By Lucia Leal

U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto hailed this Friday the strength of bilateral relations and their belief they will continue even if Donald Trump comes to power in January, on the day after the magnate accepted the Republican presidential candidacy without ever abandoning his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

In what was probably their last meeting in the White House, Obama and Peña Nieto agreed on the need to institutionalize the areas of the two countries’ relationship where they have made progress in recent years “so they will be lasting over time,” in the words of the Mexican president.

“Let me start by saying something that is too often overlooked,” Obama told a press conference after the meeting, “but bears repeating, especially given some of the heated rhetoric we sometimes hear: the United States values tremendously our enduring partnership with Mexico and our extraordinary ties of family and friendship with the Mexican people.”

Though the Mexican government has criticized the way Trump has insulted Mexican immigrants and his idea of building a wall along the border, Peña Nieto said he was sure that with the next U.S. government it will nonetheless be possible to take bilateral relations forward.

“To Mrs. Hillary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump, I want to express my highest respect,” said Peña Nieto, and vowed to have a “frank and open dialogue” with whoever is elected next November.

He said the next U.S. president will find in Mexico and its government a constructive attitude toward any proposals and good faith in strengthening relations.

Obama was more critical of Trump than his Mexican counterpart, saying that “a cooperative Mexico” with a “healthy economy” is going to “do a lot more to solve any migration crisis or drug trafficking problem than a wall” on the border.

He also slammed Trump’s speech this Thursday at the Republican National Convention, where the magnate said that in the U.S., tens of thousands of “illegal immigrants with criminal records…are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.”

The president countered Trump’s assertion by saying that the “facts” show the numbers of violent crimes and illegal immigrants in the U.S. to be the lowest in decades.

He also added that “globalization is a fact…and we’re not going to be able to build a wall around that.” EFE

Washington, Jul 22 (EFE)